


Someone I'm not

by Animedemon01



Category: Carmen Sandiego (Cartoon 2019)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-05
Updated: 2019-08-05
Packaged: 2020-07-31 13:07:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20115589
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Animedemon01/pseuds/Animedemon01
Summary: Ever since he started working for Countess Cleo, Dash Haber has had to pretend he's someone he's not. That is until he meets up with a certain red head.





	Someone I'm not

If given the chance to do it all again, Dash Haber would’ve never started working for Countess Cleo in the first place. It was originally only supposed to be short-term employment, just a one-time thing, but he needed the money, so when given the choice, he stayed. And now, even if he wanted to, he couldn’t leave, he knew too much now.

His least favorite thing about his employment, however, was having to attend those stupid events that Countess Cleo hosted regularly. He hated being surrounded by the upper-class assholes that attended these things. Everything about them, from the way they dressed, to the way they spoke annoyed him. He hated being hit on by the aristocratic men, who only saw him as a pretty face. Their advances would always grow more and more aggressive as the night went on, and apart from giving a polite rejection, there wasn’t much he could do about it.

As Dash stood off to the side, trying to blend into the crowd, while at the same time trying to avoid catching anyone’s eye, he was approached by a man who had to have had at least ten years on him, likely more. The man approached him, and as Dash tried to slowly back away, he found himself cornered.

“Say, what’s a guy like you doing at a place like this?” Dash could smell the alcohol on the man’s breath as he spoke. “Why don’t we head back to my hotel room? I’ll guarantee its got the biggest bed you’ve ever seen.”

They were always so much worse when they were drunk.

“Actually, I really must be going.” He lied. “The Countess needs me to-“

The man cut him off. “Come on, we’ve only just met. She can wait.”

“Actually, the Countess instructed me to fetch him immediately.” A very familiar red head told the man. Dash hadn’t even noticed him approach. “It is vital that I bring Mr. Haber to her straightway.”

Dash breathed a sigh of relief. “Of course, perhaps we can talk another time. Thank you for alerting me, Duke.”

After they were away from the man, the Duke’s attitude quickly changed. “Are you okay? Frankly, I’ve never seen someone be so brash.”

“Its fine; I’m used to it.” He replied. “Thank you for getting me out of there, though.”

The Duke frowned. “This has happened before?”

Dash nodded. “All the time. Look, if you want to talk, lets head outside where nobody can overhear us.”

“Capital idea.”

Once they were far enough from the building to not have to worry about being heard, Dash turned to the Duke. “Now, that its just the two of us, you can drop that stupid accent. You’re a nice guy and all, but you’re just as fake as everyone else in there.”

The Duke’s posh British accent disappeared, only to be replaced by a rough Boston one. “What I want to know is why you let those guys treat you like that. Why not just tell ‘em to piss off?”

“Because Countess Cleo would kill me if I ever talked to them like that.” He replied. “I have to go to these stupid events, put on a fake smile, and pretend to be something I’m not. God, I’m just as plastic as everyone else in there.”

“So why do you do it?”

“Because I have to.” He muttered. “I had a chance to quit, but I didn’t take it. Now I know too much. What about you, why do you pretend to be someone you’re not?”

The Duke chuckled. “This is gonna sound stupid, but I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. We weren’t expecting you to be there an hour early, even though Ca-“

The Duke suddenly stopped talking.

Dash sighed. “I’m not stupid; I know you work for Carmen Sandiego, and frankly, I don’t really care. Just continue.”

He nodded. “Well, I guess its okay to tell you, considering you figured it out already. Anyways, Carmen was telling me, not to open the door, but I thought it was my sandwich, so I didn’t listen. Long story short, I had to learn to sound fancy, and wear this stupid monkey suit. Hey, forgive me if I’m moving to fast, but if you’re not busy, do you want to meet up sometime tomorrow? There’s this nice, little cafe not far from here we could go to.”

Dash smiled. “Well, Duke, my flight doesn’t leave until tomorrow evening, so how about noon tomorrow. I won’t expect you to be all dressed up like this, so long as you don’t expect me to be.”

“Sounds great!” The red head replied. “And please don’t call me Duke when its just the two of us; its Zack.”

“Just call me Dash.” He replied. “Haber is obviously not my real last name, but Dash is actually short for Dashiell, which is in fact my real first name.”

“Cool. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

Dash was never a fan of suits. But with having to wear them all the time, he got used to it. Today, since he wasn’t working, he had a chance to wear something simpler. He went with a pair of jeans, and a gray hoodie, an outfit he’d worn very often, at least before he’d started working for Countess Cleo. He didn’t even bother putting in his contact lenses, instead opting to just wear his glasses.

When he showed up at the café, Zack was already waiting for him. He smiled and waved Dash over.

“You look nice.” He said. “I like those glasses; they really suit you.”

“Thanks, you look good, too.” Dash smiled back. “You ready to eat?”

“Of course! I’m always ready to eat.”

For the fist time in a while, Dash felt genuinely happy. There was just something wonderful about not having to fake it for once.


End file.
